People Arrested in City Are Often Jailed Past 24-Hour Limit, Study Says

In the 13 months ended last October, more than a third of the 360,000 people arrested in New York City sat in jail beyond the legal limit of 24 hours, according to a study released yesterday by the New York Civil Liberties Union.

About 12,000 of those arrested, including people accused of jumping a subway turnstile or relieving themselves on the street, spent more than 36 hours in detention before their arraignments, the first court appearance at which those taken into custody are informed of the charges against them.

Although lag times have declined markedly since 1991, when a state appeals court set a 24-hour limit on the so-called arrest-to-arraignment process, civil libertarians and public defenders have long denounced a system they say essentially punishes those who have yet to be accused of a crime.

According the study, which used data from the New York City Police Department, 62 percent of the people whose arraignments exceeded 24 hours were eventually charged with misdemeanors.

"When you're arrested in New York City, there's a good chance you'll do the time without being convicted of doing the crime," said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the Civil Liberties Union. "It's a perversion of justice."

During a news conference on the steps of City Hall yesterday, the group joined several members of the City Council in calling for its members to pass a bill that would require the release of most detainees when the 24-hour limit has passed.

The bill, which supporters say has the backing of two dozen of the 51 members, would also allow those held beyond 24 hours to sue the city. Under the bill, agencies with a role in the criminal justice system would have to report their compliance with the law. "No one knows where the delays are, and no one is being held accountable," Ms. Lieberman said.

Paul J. Browne, the Police Department's chief spokesman, said his agency's portion of the arrest-to-arraignment process averaged between 15.1 to 16.7 hours last year. "Only in rare instances, such as when a complainant can't be located, is the N.Y.P.D. portion stretched beyond 24 hours," he said.

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Court administrators and prosecutors said some of the delays were due to the shortage of arraignment judges, a lack of courtroom space and the fact that some arrests take place after 1 a.m., when the court system shuts down for the day.

Steven Reed, a spokesman for the Bronx district attorney, said his office had made strides in improving the pace of justice, bringing detention times down to an average of 11.8 hours from 16.3 hours a year ago. "We are aware of the issue, but we are only one component of the system," he said.

Critics say the process penalizes thousands of innocent people who are forced to endure overcrowded holding cells, government-issued bologna sandwiches and sleepovers on the jailhouse floor. Ezekiel Edwards, an lawyer at Bronx Defenders, which provides legal counsel to the poor, said prolonged jail times sometimes mean lost jobs, children left unattended at home and medical conditions untreated. "In addition to the emotional and psychological stress, there are also collateral repercussions of holding people for so long," he said.

Charles B. Billups, a retired police officer formerly of central booking in Brooklyn, said some officers deliberately delayed the process to punish detainees who were uncooperative or too inquisitive. "Paperwork might get lost, or the fingerprinting process would get bogged down," said Mr. Billups, now the chairman of the Grand Council of Guardians, a police fraternal organization. "We'd call it bullpen therapy."

Councilman Peter F. Vallone Jr., the chairman of the public safety committee, said that he supported efforts to speed up arraignment times, but that he planned to keep the so-called charge-or-release bill bogged up in committee. As written, he said, the legislation has the potential to set criminals free before they face a judge. He added that the solution to the problem was to increase financing for the police and prosecutors.

"This bill is good in theory, but in reality it's a 'get out of jail' card for felons," Mr. Vallone said. "And worse, it's a 'get out of jail and get paid' card, because they'll have the right to sue the city if they're kept in jail over 24 hours."